The Clique: High School Years
by charliesangels333
Summary: The Clique has moved on to high school, opening up all sorts of... problems. Such as Massie being quite slutty, Alicia being anorexic, Dylan being fat, Kristen being strange, and Claire in a blindfold.
1. Prologue

THE CLIQUE: THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS

Massie Block: Is so ready for high school and all the opportunities that come with it. A few of them include: Drugs, sex, STDs, pregnancy scares, and the oh-so-wonderful world of DUI!

Alicia Rivera: Alicia's been given the opportunity to audition for the Academy of Performing Arts in New York. Can she survive without the Clique? Will she attempt to make her own clique before the end of this fanfic? Let me answer that question with a definitive 'yes'.

Dylan Marvil: Is on the PICKLE diet. Oh yeah, and she likes someone else's crush. Again. Ooh, such diversity in these books!!!

Kristen Gergory: Once again has to choose between school and friends! Not really. Mostly she just chills in her basement with the Witty Committee and her SBFF Layne.

Claire Lyons: Is offered the role of a lifetime as Hellen Keller! Unfortunately, the director insists that she goes around wearing ear plugs and a blindfold for the rest of the semester. Can Claire succeed? No, probably not. Oh yeah, and something about Cam and her fear of the Clique falling apart.


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE: HIGH SCHOOL

Massie was throwing the entire contents of her wardrobe in her trash. It was all kid stuff, nowhere near good enough for high school. She needed something wild and outgoing, something that defined her not as who she used to be, but who she was going to be.

She was going to change her outlook on life. She had not always played it safe, true, but she was going to let it all out this year. Massie had heard from anyone who was anyone that the only way to be accepted in high school was to party. And party hard.

"Sorry Bean, but I don't need you anymore. I'm going to go play with the big dogs."

And with that, she snapped her closet shut, finally figuring out exactly what she was going to wear.

***

Alicia was sitting in her room as well, not obsessing over clothes, but rather the brochures that littered her floor. The Academy of Performing Arts in New York had invited her to go there for high school, instead of where all of her friends were going. She hadn't told anyone about her audition there, but for the first time in her life, she was seriously considering leaving the clique. She knew she could become a successful Alpha at APA if she tried. I mean, everybody loved her. Didn't they?

***

Dylan was grateful she was on a diet. She had reached the 200 lb mark last month, and was so embarassed that she had to wear plus-sized clothes that she had not left the house. But now she was going back to school tomorrow, and she desperately needed to lose weight. Massie had told her that if she was not out of plus sizes by the end of the month, she would be OUT of the Pretty Committee forever. And that couldn't be good, especially when her new crush could also very likely get her kicked out...

***

Kristen was sitting in her basement, looking at colleges online. Her mom wanted her to graduate in three years, two if possible, and quickly move on to prelaw school at an Ivy League College. But she wasn't so excited to leave the Pretty Committee behind. Especially when one of the members connected her to a very spectacular guy...

***

Claire was sitting in her bedroom, waiting for Layne to show up. Layne had changed so much just over the summer, especially after her mother had banned her from the Salvation Army. She had grown another two inches, two cup sizes, and gotten a really good haircut, but it was the clothes that really changed her. Boys suddenly noticed Layne a lot more, even though Layne only had eyes for one guy.

She sat back into her fluffy pillows, thinking about her own physical changes. In other words: Nothing. She was the exact same girl that she had been when she had starred in Dial L for Loser. That had so far been the highlight of her life, and she often debated whether or not she should try out for another part in another movie. In fact, her mom had just gotten a call the other day about a super-popular audition.

***


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: HIGH SCHOOL

Layne Abeley had never felt so . . . confident before. Needless to say after her growth over the summer, she was finally getting attention.

After coming home from a two-month book tour, her mother had been surprised to find her daughter in an over-sized power rangers t-shirt, paint covered parachute pants, watching re-runs of the Price is Right while eating oatmeal.

She abhorred Layne's behavior, but her mother was the only person who truly understood Layne. So seeing the hidden potential in her daughter like no one else, she went into extreme cool mom mode. Making up for lost time, they went shopping, got manicures, and even spent an entire weekend waiting in line to meet Boys Like Girls.

Her mom's only stipulation for all this quality time was that Layne was not allowed to go to the Salvation Army any more. Or watch the Price is Right. Or eat oatmeal.

And it seemed that spending time with her mom had really changed Layne and she had finally come into her own.

And so with new clothes, new boobs and a new attitude, Layne was ready to take on high school and all of its challenges.

****

Layne had to admit, one of the best parts of starting high school was that her brother could drive. The days of running after the bus or sitting next to smelly Roger Nides, while Kori and Strawberry screamed Jonas Brothers songs at the top of their lungs had not exactly been the highlight of her BOCD experience.

This year she was arriving in style. Her and her brother were the pinnacle of style with Chris in his diesel jeans and knit top, Layne in her ripped skinny jeans and floral-peasant style top. Chris now drove the black Mustang, and as a Senior, he was at the top of the social ladder, which was not a bad thing for his sister.

There is was. Upper BOCD. The high school site of BOCD had always been co-ed because, administrators believed that assemblies about sex and STDs were less awkward in large groups, and less expensive.

Crowds of girls and guys alike gathered in groups on the "grand lawn" at the front of the school. Ah-bviously taking advantage of freedom to dress as they please, variations of sluts, slanks, punks, preps, and normal kids paraded around joining their friends and making new ones.

While people watching, Layne saw something so pathetic that she could not help laughing as she got out of the Mustang. Massie Block was stumbling across the lawn in three-inch heels, a mini skirt and a shirt cut so low, you'd swear that Massie was trying to flash her tiny A-cups to the world.

Layne's fit of laughter was interrupted when she saw her SBFF now RBFF (Real Best Friend Forever), Kristen Gregory sauntering over to her, arms outstretched. Layne ran eagerly to her and the two girls hugged like they had not seen each other in years, instead of just last night.

"Hey Krissy, how ya'been, doll?" Layne asked and the two girls walked with linked arms to the front of a giant oak tree where the Witty Committee members had agreed to meet plus Dempsey and Cam.

"Thinking about him . . . again . . ." Layne gave her a "not again" look and Kristen sighed. " I just can't stop thinking about him. I mean after Dune, Cam was always there for me and now we're best friends. But I know I want to be more now and he went back to Claire, again."

"Krissy, I feel bad for you but Claire's my friend, too and I don't want either of you to get hurt." Layne hated having to be Switzerland in the battle over Cam. Ever since Kristen developed this scandelous crush, Layne had felt torn between her two best friends in the world and she really did not want to pick a side.

"Hey Kristen. Hey Layne." Cam gave each of them a big hug. Layne noticed that Kristen and Cam were hugging a little too long, and neither of them were willing to break their bond. '_Oh no, this year is definitely going to be interesting.'_

"So guys, what's the dish?" Dempsey exclaimed in a faux-gay voice trying to break the awkward silence surrounding the group. Kristen and Cam immediately broke apart: Kristen blushing and Cam looking totally unabashed.

"Well, Massie Block looks like she saw way too many trashy teen movies this summer. And Derrington is back to wearing shorts." Layne observed. "But you know other than that, the usual."

"Well, Miss Abeley I have to say your looking scrumptious this year." Dempsey commented. "You'll have all the boys chasing you." Layne could have sworn that Dempsey looked annoyed as he said this but maybe it was just wishful thinking. It was common knowledge that Layne had developed a crush on Dempsey during eighth grade, had been waiting for him to reciprocate her feelings.

However last year, Dempsey had caught the attention of another girl in BOCD, Massie Block. Massie was sly, ruthless and beautiful and usually succeeded in getting what she wants. That used to scare Layne but this year she had a feeling that a new age was dawning, that would leave Massie and all other immature girls in the dust.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Future

Massie Block turned her head away from Kristen, Layne, and the two boys, deciding instead to simply focus on looking the best out of anyone on the small high school campus.

She was wearing an extremely fashionable purple patent leather mini skirt which skimmed the bottom of her panties and made her butt look especially cute, along with three and a half inch black stilettos with purple jewels near the toes, and a shirt that cut just below her bust line in the center and made her look like she had major cleavage. It helped that she was wearing a water bra.

She took some lip venom out of her purse, smearing it on in a thick coat. It made her lips look both shimmery and plump. In other words, sexy. The rest of her makeup included a thin layer of purple liquid eyeliner and max lash blast mascara.

She was proud of her look. It definitely made her look party-ready, as well as acted as boy bait. Massie could already see four boys, juniors and seniors by the look of them, staring intently at her low-cut shirt. She thrust her chest out a little more, winking seductively to the closest guy.

Massie quickly turned her head, tossing her full-bodied hair over one shoulder as she did. She didn't want to seem way too eager, or else she would be pegged as a super wannabe. Instead, she focused on the other members of the pretty committee, trying to decide whether or not they were appropriately dressed for the first day of school.

Alicia's outfit was very Spanish looking, in a good way, highlighting her toned dancers body. Massie nodded in approval.

Claire's outfit was modest but stylish, skinny jeans and turquoise flats with a cute top.

Kristen was over with Layne, who had suddenly budded over the summer. Massie quickly looked away, supremely jealous that they were able to talk to Dempsey so easily.

Finally, Massie's eyes strayed to Dylan, who was... fat. And that's all there was to it. She had tried to look somewhat good, but in Massie's opinion, fat kids and fashion just couldn't mix. Dylan was still one of her best friends, but if she began dragging her down in her first month of high school, she would be permanently cut from the Pretty Committee.

The bell rang for the first period assembly, signaling all freshman to go to the auditorium. Massie waited patiently for all of the Pretty Committee, flashing them eye signals instead of losing her cool with waving hands.

They all got seats next to one another, sitting Dylan next to Alicia next to Massie next to Claire next to Cam next to Kristen next to Dempsey, who had Layne on his other side. Massie was itching to trade places with Kristen and start working her new sexy attitude on Dempsey. She imagined how she would lean into him and dazzle him with her smoky eyes and plump lips, slowly drawing him into her. She would put her hand on his thigh, something she saw in movies that guys just couldn't resist. He would lean in and kiss her, and she would make him keep going, trying out new techniques she had looked up in magazines and on the internet.

Right in the middle of her amazing make out fantasy, which was about to move onto second base, the principal interrupted Massie's thoughts with the beginning of some annoying speech.

"High school is about making decisions," she began. Her voice was low and raspy, more annoying than the last principal they had had at BOCD. "You will have to make many important decisions about your future within the next few years, including what classes to take, what careers you want to go into, and which friends are worth your time. High school is the first step towards your future."

The speech went on for a looooong time, dragging on with talk about the future, and more talk about the future, and even more talk about the future. Massie didn't care about the future, only the present. She cared about how to make the most out of her life right now, how to get into the best parties and get the best guys, and how to get supremely popular during her first year.

Alicia, on her one side, was thinking intently about her future. Her audition for APA was supposed to be in three days, but even if she got in she wasn't sure if she would go. On the one hand, she would finally have the opportunity to start her own rulership at a new school. On the other hand, she would be leaving behind everyone that she knew, and would probably never be close to them again.

Claire, on Massie's other side, between kisses from Cam and strict 'pay attentions' from Kristen, she was thinking about her future career. She had sworn off acting after Dial L for Loser, but maybe she should start considering it again. After all, high school was the first step towards the future. Maybe she would ask her mom to try out for that movie.

Layne was thinking about her future, suddenly realizing how unsure she had become of it since her mom came home. She had always wanted to become an environmental activist, but her mom didn't approve. Her mother tried gearing her towards modeling and fashion design, things she had scorned at BOCD.

Kristen was thinking about her future too, totally sure of where it was going. She would graduate, go to college, and then law school. It had always been as simple as that. But hanging around the Witty Committee had recently changed her mind. She had started to let her mind wander, and had been thinking how great being a teacher in Spain would be, teaching English to handicapped kids. Or something along those lines.

Everyone was thinking about their future, except Dylan, who was thinking about a smushed Snickers bar she had in her pocket, and how she could eat it without attracting attention. All this talk about her future was making her depressed, because all she could see in her future was a black hole with no Pretty Committee.

Yes, everyone was thinking about their future. Too bad everyone's future seemed to, in some way, point towards the end of the Pretty Committee.


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4: HIGH SCHOOL

The first day of high school had been unusually pleasant for Claire. There were no major fights, she had found a great outfit, and her boyfriend was crazy about her. Sure Cam had been a little more withdrawn the past few weeks but Claire attributed that to pre-high school jitters. After all soccer try-outs were coming up and Cam really wanted to play varsity his freshman year.

Claire had also decided earlier in the day that she wanted to pursue acting. While the opportunity presented itself, she may as well take advantage of it. Claire's mother was more than ecstatic than Claire when she told her. Judy Lyons had always harbored a secret wish to be the loud obnoxious stage mom who lived her dreams through her children and caused problems on set. Yup that was her big dream.

"I'll call your agent right away! Then I'm sure I'll need to schedule a meeting with the casting director, get you a script, and oh honey, this is going to be too much fun!" Judy exclaimed from behind the wheel of the Lyons's beat-up Ford Taurus. Claire was shocked and had never seen her mother act this way. It was disturbing.

"Honey, you do realize that if you take this movie, you'll probably miss out on a large portion of the school year, right? This is what you want, right? Oh please, oh please, oh please!" Judy was practically kissing Claire's feet.

"I know, but I'm sure Cam will understand and Massie is focusing on . . . other . . . things." Claire knew that if she wanted to be an actress, she would have to make sacrifices and alienate herself from her friends. It would be worth it in the end though if the movie was great.

***

The Witty Committee plus Dempsey and Cam were chilling in Layne's fully furnished basement. In the corner Kristen and Cam were in an intense game of battle ship; Cam was one move away from sinking Kristen's destroyer and Kristen was wishing she could jump Cam from across her game board.

Kristen noticed Layne and Dempsey were getting cozy on the giant leather couch in front of the TV. Bill Gates and Oprah were making out near the fish tank. Kristen was tired of everyone else having a chance with the one they wanted. It was time to mix things up.

"Cam, I'm finished. I surrender to your awesome power." Kristen held up her hands in defeat. "I want to play a different game. Interested?"

"Very." Cam's eyes twinkled with mischief, and it was that look which melted Kristen's heart every time.

"Whose up for a game of truth or dare?" Kristen called across the room. Everyone quickly filed to the leather sectional. "Since no one else is willing to be brave, I'll go first."

"Truth or Dare," Layne asked, having the perfect dare in mind.

"Dare, of course." Kristen smiled at Cam. "I like risks."

"I Dare you to kiss Cammie." Layne cocked her eyebrow waiting for Kristen to make her move.

"Its fine with me." Cam said quickly. He leaned in and Kristen met his lips, trying not to appear eager. They both knew it was wrong. Cam was with Claire.

But the moment their lips locked, neither one of them could think of anything else but kissing each other. It was not long before they were full on frenching in front of their friends, who cleared their throats awkwardly trying to ignore what was happening in front of them.

Layne knew her plan to test Kristen and Cam was wrong but she was really curious to see if there was something between them. But now she had seen enough, and she pulled them off each other.

Cam looked shocked and confused. "I'm gonna . . . I gotta go guys. See you tomorrow. Dempsey, girls." Cam practically sprinted upstairs, leaving Kristen shocked and confused too, and a little hurt as well.


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5- HELLEN KELLER

Claire sat at home, only slightly miffed that Cam had abandoned her for 'the guys'. She trusted him, especially after what had happened with that other girl from camp and their disastrous breakup.

She was actually quite happy. Her mother had just called the people that had requested she audition for their movie, and now she had another chance at fame. They explained to her that it was a non-speaking part, but that she would have to learn sign language. That would be interesting at least.

She flopped on her couch, waiting for the clock to strike four. That was when Massie, Alicia, and Dylan would call her from Massie's room and invite her to come on up. Kristen claimed she had some sort of plans.

It was only three thirty, but the house phone started ringing. Maybe Alicia had come home early from dance class, and the girls were all hanging out at Massie's already. She picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hello. This is Retollo Pictures. Is this the Lyons' residence?"

"Yes it is. This is Claire."

"Well, congratulations Claire! We just called to inform you that the other three girls we had up for the role of Hellen Keller have just declined to try out. That means that, if you'll take it, you automatically have the part!"

"Wow! Thank you! This means so much! I can't believe it. I mean, I was really excited but…"

"Yes, yes I know, dear. Now, we would just like to talk about some training for the movie."

"Training?" Claire questioned. Did they want her to get acting lessons?

"Well, you will be playing Hellen Keller, so…"

"Oh, right. The sign language. Yeah, of course. I totally forgot."

"Well, there is that, of course. But we would also like you to get a little more… connected… to the role. What we would really like you to do is wear a specially-made blindfold and some sound-proof headphones until about two weeks before we begin the filming. We feel this will really help you to connect with Hellen."

"Oh," said Claire, completely taken aback. This was nothing like she expected. She almost backed out, but then she began to think of her future. She would be a star again, and maybe this time her movie wouldn't stink so badly. "Well, okay. So when should I get all this stuff?"

"Tonight, actually. The headquarters of Retollo Pictures is only a few towns over, so we have someone driving it over right now, along with someone who will explain all of this to your friends and family."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Good bye, Claire."

"Bye."

Claire hung up the phone just as her cell phone rang. She looked at the clock. Four oh two. Nearly perfect timing.

Massie hung up her cell phone, looking at the three faces that stared back at hers. Soon the fourth one would be here, and she could tell everyone her plans. They were her best friends, but she needed to get a few things straight with them.

Claire opened her door and walked in, sitting in her normal spot on the floor. Massie got some butterflies in her stomach. She was ready to spill her guts. She would have preferred Kristen being here too, but she had to do this now.

"I have some very important announcements," she declared, putting up one perfectly manicured finger. "First of all, I hope you all understand that this is high school. Things are going to change. We need to extend our social circles." Everyone looked extremely surprised. "Okay, maybe not extend them out, but definitely up. Juniors and seniors are the primary targets. They can get us into the best parties and show us what's cool." Everyone nodded in nervous approval.

"Next, we need to be the absolute most popular, hottest, and sexiest girls on campus. That's right, sexy. We need to have reputations with guys. It will make us even more popular, and give us experience over others in our grade. I mean, how much do you think we'll be worshipped when people find out that we've gone to second base, or third, or all the way home?" She waggled her eyebrows mysteriously, and everyone's mouths hung open dumbly. She had made sure to research everything she could about this so that she sounded experienced, but now she needed to get out in the field and experiment.

"I know that some of you already have boyfriends," she said, nodding towards Alicia and Claire, "But you need to start doing more than just kissing them," Claire looked very pale, and Alicia looked day-dreamy when she said this.

She turned her attention to Dylan, who was sitting in the corner like a useless little blob. Well, a slightly big blob. "You, Dylan, need to slim down. Immediately. Or else you're out. I don't care how you do it, just do it. And then find a crush and start throwing yourself at him."

"I will be going after two guys. One, of course, is Dempsey. We have something special, and I think that we'll really connect in all the right ways," she smiled to herself, daydreaming about what it would be like to have Dempsey as her 'first'.

"The other will be Chris Abeley. I've heard he's pretty… into girls, so it shouldn't be hard to get him to get us into the hottest, wildest parties."

"If you guys fail to participate in these parties or go farther with boys than you have already before the end of the first semester, you will be _out _of the Pretty Committee. Forever."

**Okay, we forgot to put Disclaimers on all of these chapters so far. So:**

**We don't own these characters. But we like controlling them ******** And that goes for all of the previous chapters.**

**We also forgot to put the authors. So, the introduction was by both Angels 1/3 and 3/3. Chapters 1, 3, and 5 (along with all the other odd number chapters) were (will be) by me, 3/3. Chapters 2 and 4 (and all other even chapters) were (will be) by1/3.**

**One last thing we've been forgetting to put: REVIEW!!**

**That's it. So, until next time, bye!! And be on the lookout for more Clique High School Years Chapters.**


	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6: Pickles and Pick-Me Ups

Dylan Marvil had always considered herself to things: comedic and chunky. Gazing at the mirror, she knew she needed to loose weight. Not only to stay in the pretty committee or be healthy, but to get back Derrick Harrington. The most amazing guy she had ever met.

Derrick and Dylan relationship had not been picturesque, she knew, but through their lovers quarrels and fights over their favorite Jonas Brothers songs, they loved each other. They had danced and sang, and had fun doing the simplest things, as long as they were together.

But then, they were done. Dylan had known it was too good to be true. They had fallen too hard too fast, and neither of them were ready for that sort of commitment. Then that one night . . .

Well, to make a long story short, They broke up. Probably for good.

Dylan never cried though. She did what she did best, ate . . . a lot. Now a whole summer and two pant sizes later, Dylan she was not feeling even a little bit better about herself.

Now she looked like she was 200 pounds, okay maybe an exaggeration, but she still felt like a balloon. But did knew she had finally found the perfect solution: the Pickle Diet. This was of course named after the famous Herman J. Pickle, a celebrity dietitian who her mother had interviewed two weeks ago on her talk. The diet basically consisted of eating celery with every meal and pickles in between. Celery was a negative-calorie food, and pickles were just plain tasty. She had only been on this diet for a few days and had already lost ten pounds. In addition, she joined Alicia's hip-hop dance class and hired a personal trainer to whip her butt into shape.

Once she was skinny, she would finally get over Derrick. Hopefully. Kinda.

***

Alicia knew that the Heart-Nets, the cheer leading squad she had started at BOCD the past year had been a huge success, but she had to admit she was nervous about tryouts this year. She had took an advanced tumbling class with the the graduating members of the squad over the summer but she did not know if it would be enough. She had mastered her splits in dance class, but the world of back-hand springs and fliers was alien to her. Sure the Heart-Nets had cheered and danced, but they had never attempted the hardcore stunts that were essential to cheer leading.

She had to make it. As a cheerleader, Alicia had been an alpha. Her seventh grade attempt at making her own clique had ended disastrously, but after her eighth grade tango with power, they had become one and the same. Alicia could not bare to be separated with her power. It was hers the one thing she had left.

"Alicia Rivera," called Tammie Ryan, Olivia's cheer-zaster of a sister. She was a good gymnast but a horrible captain. She yelled at the others and criticized them until the quit or fit into their uniforms.

"What have you prepared for us today?" Tammie called from behind the ominous captains table. Her stare, said 'You'll never actually be good enough.' but Alicia was ready to prove her wrong.

_"Don't Stop, _

_Get it Get it, _

_Vipers Are Gonna Win it, _

_Vipers will work it, _

_So let me see you roll with it."_

She ended with the grand finale of a backhand spring into a split, her smile so huge, she could swear that she could feel stretch marks forming. Tammie's usually unreadable demeanor was momentarily replaced by genuine surprise as she grabbed a uniform from a box under the table and threw it to Alicia.

"Small right?" Tammie had an evil smile on her overly-made up face, but Alicia was to happy to care. Anyone else who saw probably would have thought she was having an episode from the magnitude of the smile on her face!

But as soon as Alicia held up the tiny top, her smile vanished: between the lack of fabric in the tiny vest and the overabundence of her boobs, there was going to be a problem. A huge problem.


	8. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7- IDEAS

Claire was thinking about what Massie had told the Pretty Committee last night at her house. Thinking was pretty much all she had been able to do since around seven or eight last night. Life was extremely boring without eyes or ears.

She was thinking about finally taking up Cam on his offer to maybe go slightly farther on the 'baseball diamond' of relationships. Claire had always been happy with just Cam's kisses, but Cam had insisted that they would always be together, and that eventually they would do all that 'stuff', so why not do it now?

Claire had never really taken any of this seriously, but now that Massie was telling her to do it, she started to consider it. The only problem would be this stupid blindfold and the earplugs. Everyone in the PC, especially Massie, had been furious once the movie company had explained everything to them. Or, at least, she assumed they were. She couldn't see or hear anything. Besides that, the day had gone pretty smoothly. Cam had greeted her with a peck on the cheek (or at least she assumed it was Cam, since she couldn't see or hear anything), and someone from the PC was leading her around. She could tell it was the girls because of their perfectly manicured nails.

Yes, life as Hellen Keller was not glamorous. But at least she had good, understanding friends, and the most amazing boyfriend on the face of the earth.

***

Alicia led Claire to the cafeteria from their math class, sitting her at the Pretty Committee's designated table. She had been completely useless all day, never taking notes or talking coherently or answering anyone's questions. She just sat there with her head in her hand and waited for someone else to do something for her. She could see Dyaln in the lunch line with two trays, one for herself and one for Claire (or at least that's what she assumed, since one was covered in celery and pickles and the other in actual food and gummy bears).

Alicia stared glumly at her own lunch, debating on whether or not to eat it. Right after she had gotten home from cheerleading tryouts, she had immediately tried on her uniform. As she had suspected, her boobs were squeezed in so tight she thought they would pop. She needed desperately to find a way to make her boobs smaller.

She had heard somewhere that boobs were made of fat. So the more you ate, the more your boobs grew. This could certainly be taken as true for Dylan, whose boobs had expanded with the rest of her body, but Alicia didn't know how she could take weight _off_ her own boobs.

Her tray consisted of a single apple, a deluxe turkey, cheese, and tomato sandwich, and a small side salad with low-calorie and low-fat dressing. She was hungry, but she didn't want to be embarrassed at the first big game in two weeks when her gigantic boobs popped out of the tiny cheerleading top. Maybe if she stopped eating, they would shrink enough for her to fit into the uniform.

Alicia picked up her sparkly, blue plastic tray, and dumped it all in the trash can. Let the food fast begin.

Sorry its short, but I was kind of busy and then I couldn't think of anything too funny to write about. So…. Review… and 1/3's chapter will be up… soon? Probably.

**~ Angel 3/3**

**OH! Disclaimer: We don't own the characters, etc, etc.**


	9. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8: Spectacular!

Kristen was watching the Specaluar Movie Special on Nickolodean, while scratching a purring Beckham on her lap. She was not an avid watcher of Nickolodean, but she had an affliction for FRED that some might call unusual. What girl could help herself; Fred was cute, adorable and funny all rolled up into an amazing character. To say that Kristen was hooked to his videos would be an understatement.

Needless to say, if Fred was going to guest star on iCarly, Kristen would be there to watch it.

Now in her hand-me-down sillk pajama bottoms from Alicia and official Fred T-shirt from Hot Topic, Kristen was reday to immerse herself in Fred and all of his wonder.

Kristen was laughing at one of his videos when she heard a knock at her door.

"Coming!" She called sliding down her front hallway in her super slippery socks. Unfornately, they were too slippery and she launched herself into the door.

"Are you alright in there?" A conserned male voice called from the hallway. Cam.

"Owww. . . Yeah. Hold on. Kristen reached for the door holding her heard.

"Hello there." Cam smiled and offered her, his hand.

"Thanks." Kristen brushed off her pants, suddenly became very self-consicious. Cam smiled but she could tell he was uncomfortable, too.

"So how's a . . . . your cat . . . Becky?" Cam asked finally breaking the silence.

"Beckham. He's . . . fine . . ." Kristen pretended to pick a piece of lint off her shirt. "What would Massie say in a situation like this?" she thought. "Uh . . . do you wanna come in?"

"Listen Kristen. I came to apologize. I shouldn't have-"

"Cam, stop." Kristen cut him off. Was he really about to apologize for all that had happened? "Don't apologize." She cautiously took another step towards him, and Cam just stood there looking stunned.

"I know that you love Claire, but its possible to love more than one person at once Cam. Trust me." A note of sadness crept into her voice. She remembered how her relationship with Dune had ended exactly because of that. She loved Dune with some part of her, but another part loved Dempsey. She had then broken up with Dune, leaving herself without a boyfriend and Dune with a broken heart. She had convinced herself that a point in time would come where neither Massie nor Layne liked him, and she would swoop in and take the prize.

She had waited and waited and waited, without any results. Dempsey still didn't show any preference, and Massie and Layne still implied that they had claims on him. And as she waited, she began to develop feelings for someone else: Cam.

"I know it is Kristen. Because..." He hesitated for a moment before proceeding, "I am right now." He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "But I don't want Claire to get hurt because I'm being selfish."

Kristen sighed and held on tighter to his hand. "But if you love both of us, how do you know you're making the right choice?"

"I don't. But I hope for the best. I've been with Claire for a long time now, and we definately have something special."

Suddenly, an idea came to Kristen's head. It was devious, terrible, and a total shot in the dark. But she decided to mention it anyway.

"You know, Claire is doing that movie, and she has to get in character for the semester..."

"I know. And its really hard for her, but I'm trying to be supportive,"

"Yeah, and it must be hard on you too..."

"Maybe, but I'm more worried about her-"

"Well, if we... hooked up for a little while... she would never know. And then when it was time for her to take off the blindfold, you could decide who you really wanted to be with."

He looked slightly confused, but even more than that he looked hopeful. "Well, she would never be able to find out..." Kristen couldn't believe he was considering it. It was better than her wildest dreams. "But are you sure that you would be willing to live with that? I mean, I'm pretty sure that at the end of this, if I did choose you, the two of you will most likely never be friends again."

Kristen nodded slowly. She could live with that. She would have one of her dream men. And maybe, just maybe, jealousy would enable her to get the other.

She smiled, thinking about what Massie had told her about an hour ago over the phone, what she said she had said to the rest of the PC when she wasn't there.

By the end of the semester, Cam would most definately choose her. She stood up on her tiptoes and reached her arms up to lock them around his neck before beginning to kiss him passionately.

***

Massie hung up her phone, writing the date and time of the party on her personal planner. It was tomorrow night at some big-time mansion, and it started at eight. It was her first party, and she planned on bringing a few members of the Pretty Committee with her. Not Claire, because she couldn't do anything. And not Dylan, because she would be all depressed in the corner. At this point, Kristen and Alicia would be her only companions. She knew Alicia would bring Josh, which wouldn't be a problem, but she also wanted Kriten to have a date so that Massie would be the target of all the hot single guys.

She already had her first party outift planned out, and she was ridiculously excited for all the excitement that lay ahead of her tomorrow night. Kristen and Alicia's numbers quickly popped up on her text message screen, and within the next fifteen minutes they were cleared to go to the party tomorrow night.

Massie shivered with a rush of adrenaline. Tomorrow would be the make or break of her high school career. She would have to put it all out there, and hope for the best. The word 'yes' would be her best friend tomorrow. She prayed that Dempsey would be there, because she had no doubt tomorrow would be her 'first'. She just didn't yet know who with.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Highs and Lows

Time flew by after Massie had officially been cleared to go to the party. She barely had time to eat and sleep and go to school before it was suddenly noon on Saturday and it was time to start getting ready. It was a good thing she already had the outifit planned out--otherwise she might have missed the party all together.

And what was this spectacular outfit, you may ask? In Massie's opinion, it was just about the most ingenious outfit she had ever put together--including those times she had to improvise when she was in that bet with Claire. Her bra and cute sparkly black little lacy underpants were from Victoria's Secret; they were lacy and high cut but not too disgustingly revealing. The bra was front-fastening, which gave her extra cleavage. She was wearing panty hose-- something about them just made her feel grown-up and unusually hot--with a really, really short, deep purple pleated skirt that had that whole 'bad girl' vibe going on about it. Underneath this skirt she pulled on a longer, white pleated skirt to make it look more modest for when she had to get past her parents. The two skirts, when on top of one another, looked perfectly connected and natural.

On top she wore a simple, perfectly fitted white button-down blouse that was only _slightly_ see-through. On top of this she wore a sweater-vest and cute little tie that was striped purple and silver. In her ears were large sliver hoop earrings, on her wrists silver bangles, and on her feet easy-on-and-off chunky leather boots that came up to about the middle of her calves.

Her makeup was slightly thicker than usual, smokier and sexier, but her parents probably wouldn't notice. Just in case, Massie put on a pair of non-prescription glasses. This finishing touch made her outifit look almost like a super, super cute school uniform.

Her phone buzzed as she recieved outfit options from both Alicia (who was, of course, going with her bf Josh) and Kristen (who was borrowing Cam from Claire for tonight. Not like Claire would notice) and their dates. All of them looked absolutely scrumptious, but her outfit was the best by far. Phase one of Operation High School: Completed. Now for Phase two.

***

It wasn't long before all of the five teens had snuck past their parents and arrived at the party destination. They could tell they were in the right place by the heavy scent that surrounded the place, the blaring music, and the streaker who ran across the lawn, flashing all his...parts.

Everyone flinched and looked away except for Massie, who convinced herself she would be seeing someone else's soon enough. She might as well get used to the sight.

Immediately after they entered the door, Massie and all her companions were handed plastic cups and bottles of beer. She took hers with a bright smile, taking a sip of the sour-smelling stuff immediately and trying to look like she enjoyed it.

"You guys go ahead to the dance floor or something!" she shouted to her companions over the blaring music. "I have to go to the bathroom really quick. See you in a minute!" They each nodded and headed in the general direction of the music.

Massie headed to the closest unnocuppied bathroom, quickly shutting the door and shedding her long skirt, sweater, and glasses. She shoved them into a small tote bag which she hid in a potted plant next to the toilet. Massie then began fixing her shirt and tie, loosening the noose until the knot was down by her chest and her shirt only had one button in the center holding it together. She tied the bottom in a knot to show off her newly pierced belly button (which her parents didn't know about), and lowered the top so you could see the center of her bra.

Finally satisfied with her appearance, Massie left the bathroom standing tall and proud, attracting a few wolf-whistles on her way out. She immediately headed to the center of the party, a make out couch and a table covered in some random junk. She quickly inspected each one of the boys sitting on the couch and in the surrounding area, coincidentally spotting one of her targets: Chris Abeley. Currently, he was grabbing some girl's ass. Soon enough, she would be in that girl's place.

"Hey Chris!" she called, purposely slurring her words just enough to make her sound drunk. "What're you doin' here?"

"Massie, baby!" he called. A thrill went through her stomach when he said her name. He remembered her! "What're you over here for?"

"What d'ya mean, Chris baby?" she was tingling from head to toe. She was on the perfect track right now to get exactly what she wanted.

"Booze or pot? You don't look like your into any of the heavy stuff." he laughed in a demeaning way, as if she was a child.

"I'm into _allllll_ the heavy stuff, babe! You should know that!"

"Really? What do you do?"

"Uh..." she didn't know what to say. She just pointed, not knowing exactly what she pointed at. She was too busy keeping an eye on Chris's date's hands, which seemed to be everywhere.

"Crack? Really?" she nodded. "Well, have you ever snorted?" she shook her head quickly. "Let me show you, then." he unwrapped himself from his girl, picking up some of the stuff and lining it up on the table. He then bent down, leaned in close, and sucked it up his nose. "Your turn."

She immediately bent down and did what he did, his face just inches from hers. When the stuff first went up her nose it was painful, but it didn't take long for her to get the buzz. So _this_ is what everyone was talking about when they were getting high. She felt a smile forming on her face, and new bravery swelling in her stomach.

"You know Chris, you're really high!"

"I know I am!" he shouted.

"No, I meant hot!" Massie cracked herself up.

"You're really hot too! And high!"

"So we're both high _and_ hot!"

"Yeah!!!!" Massie was screaming on the inside. The whole world was just the two of them.

Suddenly she was moving, following him somewhere or other. Had he told her to follow, or was she being totally creeper on him? Whatever.

They entered a bedroom, and before she knew it, Massie was on a bed completely naked. She was going to be so famous in the Pretty Committee!

Stuff was happening that she had never done before with anyone, and she couldn't keep track of it. There were so many body parts going around and strange feelings in her body and smells and other sensations.

Eventually it was over, and she shot up in bed to see Chris and his date laying beside her, as well as an open door and a crowd of gawking bystanders outside. Her head hurt, and she felt like she was going to hurl. Her body was sticky and it hurt, and she was embarrassed that she was sitting naked in front of a bunch of people. She ducked down behind the bed and put on her crumpled, sticky, ruined clothing.

Massie ran to the door and burst through the crowd amongst cries of 'slut' and 'whore' and guys trying to grab her and people grabbing her butt and boobs and hot sweaty people talking to her too loud. She pushed and pushed through the crowd until she found Kristen and Alicia, both who looked completely confused, though not as bad as she felt or probably looked.

"What happened?!" they both shouted at the sight of her.

"We're leaving!" Massie shouted, grabbing both their arms.

"The boys!"

"Screw boys! Screw girls! Screw everything!" Massie cried, tears brimming over her eyes. She could see Cam and Josh on their way towards their dates. She turned and bolted before they could see her at this all-time low.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Why embaressing conversations are easier over a text message

High school Parties are completely over-rated, Kristen thought as she sat on a couch next to a couple who seemed set on tackling her in their game of tonsil hockey. The beer was luke warm and smelled like hamster pee and fondue, the smokey haze throughout the house was surely going to give them all lung cancer, and she had seen so many bare butts that she swore their memory would be burnrd into her retinas forever. Yes, high school parties were a drag.

Kristen had planned on spending this time with Cam but shortly after arriving, they had been seperated by one of the most uncoordinated conga line ever. The mansion had tweleve seperate rooms on the first floor alone, making it extremely difficult to locate anyone she knew. Kristen would have used any excuse to leave.

Suddenly, she felt a very awkward buzzing noise throughout the couch. Patting herself down, Kristen realized that her phone must be under the hormonely charged couple. Kristen awkwardly attempted to reach hand under the guy's butt much to his pleasure. Kristen quickly located her phone and ran away trying to shake off the awkwardness of the situation.

**1 new text : Dempsey**

"Kris, come over. need 2 talk 2 u."

Kristen glanced around. Would she rather be such in a room full of awkward strangers or chill in Dempsey's apartment and watch a rerun of That 70's Show. The answer was obvious and it did not seem like any of her friends would miss her.

Kristen ran all the way home trying to work off her frustrations. She figured that she would go home, take a shower, and head over to Dempsey's in her comfy sweats.

However when Kristen reached her apartment, she found a small post-it note stuck to the door.

Daddy had a perspective buyer. Went to NYC. ~Mommy. PS the Dempseys are going to take care of you. Beckam and your stuff at their house.

They abandoned her again. This had been happening ever since her father began to become popular again as an art dealer over the summer. Vacations and city trips had often left Kristen to fend for herself. She could feel the tears of abandonment welling in her eyes again.

Kristen turned towards the apartment opposite hers and knocked. Dempsey immediately answered the door in adorable NYC sweatpants and a wifebeater. His smile was enough halt her tears and she immediately embraced him in a hug.

"They left me again." She whispered into his chest.

"Its okay, Kris. We'll have fun like we always do." Dempsey gave her a brotherly kiss on the head and walked her over to the leather could which had been set up like a make sift bed. Kristen fell asleep in Dempsey's incredibly toned arms thinking of ways to piss off her mom when she returned . . .


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: WTF?

Alicia wasn't having too bad a time at this party. She and Josh were on a make out couch, doing what two people usually do on a make out couch. She leaned back, only to place her head on another guy's crotch.

"Do you wanna go somewhere else? It's kind of... crowded here," Alicia said to Josh, who just nodded and began pulling her up by the hand. They were only slightly drunk, so it wasn't too hard to pay attention. She saw Kristen running out the door, but figured she would be okay on her own. Cam was hanging with some other guys, drinking like a professional. And her Joshy was leading her to the nearest unoccupied bedroom, right next to one in which a very public threesome was going on. Alicia shuddered and turned away before she could really see anything. Who did that, anyway?

Josh quietly closed the bedroom door behind them and sat on the bed. She crawled over to him and kissed him on the cheek. She loved the way he smelled. He smiled and kissed her on the mouth, and before long they were back to where they were on the couch.

After a little while she reluctantly pulled away. "So we're in this big bedroom, all by ourselves..." she trailed off. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"Not really," he replied simply, nearly breaking her heart.

"Oh," Alicia replied softly. Josh never wanted to do anything besides kiss. Sure, his kisses were good, but weren't guys supposed to want more than that? Even a little more? She decided to take a risk. "Are you sure? We've been together for a while now, and now is the perfect opportunity..." she snuggled closer. "We could go to second." she suggested.

Just then, a knock interrupted their conversation. Josh disentangled himself and opened up the door, only to reveal his tennis partner, Carl Marxis.

"Hey, Josh. I saw you come in here and I was just wondering..." he trailed off, leaving Alicia very, very confused.

"Oh, yeah. Please, come in." He motioned for Alicia to come join him. They stepped out into the hall, leaving Carl in the room.

"Listen, Carl's been going through some really tough times, mentally. And you know we're really good friends, so could you just wait outside for like half an hour? Maybe go hang with Cam? I think this is gonna take a while."

"Yeah, sure." Alicia said, not wanting to sound like a total bitch and denying someone comfort from a friend. Josh smiled and slipped back inside the room. A click signified that he had locked it, something he hadn't done when the two of them were in the room together.

So Alicia went over to Cam, who was still drinking beer. "Hey," she said sulkily.

"Hey 'Licia. 'Sup?"

"Nothing. Hey, can I talk to you about something?" she asked.

"Sure!" he shouted. Normally she wouldn't spill her guts like this, but he was slammed (which she never would have expected from him), and probably wouldn't remember this tomorrow.

"How long have you and Claire been dating now?"

"Two years or something. Seventh Eighth. It was weird."

"Okay. And how 'far' have you gone with her? Have you guys gone to second?"

"Naw. I asked I think. But she's like all 'not now, not yet!' Whatevaaaa!!!"

"Do you want to do it? Like this year?"

"With Claire? Ha, as if. I was gonna, but I was thinking. If I've got a choice, I might as well do it with the other one and see if its all worth it, you know? Claire's kinda got some chub still from all those gummies and stuuufff. And she doesn't like she'd be good. Like Kris, that looks good, you know?"

At this point Alicia had given up trying to understand what was going on in his head, because something totally different seemed to be coming out of his mouth. Just then, her phone buzzed.

**One New Text Message From Kristen**

_I'll be back soon. Sorry I left without warning._

She left? Oops...Well, it didn't seem like anyone else had noticed either.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Josh exit the bedroom, gently rubbing his friend's shoulder and squeezing his hand gently before walking back towards Alicia. What a good friend he was.

"Sorry, Alicia."

"That's okay," she said, fixing one of the buttons on his shirt that was in the wrong hole. "Kristen said she'll be back soon. If we can find Massie, I think we should be leaving."

"I'll just go... collect Cam then." Josh said, looking at his totally drunk friend skeptically. Alicia nodded, just seeing Kristen walk through the front doors. They didn't even exchange a single word before an extremely panicked, haggard Massie stumbled her way towards them, her clothes even skimpier looking than they were before. She looked disastrous and scared.

"What happened?!" Kristen and Alicia shouted at once.

"We're leaving!" Massie shouted, grabbing both their arms.

"The boys!" Alicia pointed out.

"Screw boys! Screw girls! Screw everything!" Massie cried, tears brimming over her eyes. Alicia and Kristen exchanged a panicked glance. They had never seen Massie like this before. What had she done?


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Super-Dooper WTF? FML . . .

After three days of sitting alone in the dark, Claire was getting desperate.

"I know! I'll learn how to read braille!!! That way I can really embody my core character," Claire exclaimed jumping from her bed and tripping over a random blocky object then falling in what she assumed was the turkey sandwich she had lost yesterday on the carpet. Groaning from the intense rug burns on her hands and feet, Claire got up on her hands and knees feeling the carpet around her.

"Dresser . . . Bed . . . Mirror . . . Closet . . . Desk!" She shouted getting up way too fast and crashing into her new swivel desk chair. She immediately sat down, completely winded from her mini-blind adventure.

Turning towards her desk, Claire felt its surface, accidentally knocking down a lamp, magazines, and potentially her brand new laptop computer.

"What the Fuck!!! MOM!!!" Claire shouted. "Only a few more weeks. Just a few more . . . fml." Claire felt her way over to the bed and laid down. Helen Keller could do it for her whole life and she was losing her mind after a few days.

***

Carl Marxis was eating his normal bowl of honey bunches of oats when he heard the news.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you a special news report. Ed McMann has just died. Another breaking news story, Farrah Fawcett has just died from cancer. Breaking news! Micheal Jackson is addicted to pain killers and has just died! Celebrities usually die in threes but Billy Mays has thrown in one for free, becoming the fourth person to die this week. That's it for now! And remember have a Sunny Day!"

Carl dropped his spoon. In loosing four of his idols, Carl Marxis felt the world stop around him. Well until his phone rang two seconds later. Carl snapped out of it, and read the caller id. It was Josh.

"Josh, did you hear?" Carl sobbed trying to hold himself together.

"I know Farrah died, Carl. Do you want me to come over?" Josh asked. The concerned tone of his voice was always enough to fill Carl's heart with rainbows and sugarplums.

"Sure. I'll be waiting. Bye!" Josh hung up. Now Carl just had to decide what to wear.

***

Massie woke up on her bathroom floor, covered in what seemed to be her own vomit. Her mouth tasted like stale beer and cheetos, and for some reason she was only wearing one of the Jimmy Choos she had picked out for the party last night.

Carefully Massie picked herself up, holding her head. I felt like a stampede of elephants had gone across her brain, and their was still a faint ringing surrounding her.

Although you might think Massie Block would feel like crap under such circumstances, she had never been happier!

"My first official drunken incident! . . . Ow . . . Okay maybe a little too early to be yelling." Massie's head was pounding and she really wanted some food.

She slowly made her way downstairs only to find her house empty. On the table there was toast, some orange juice, and a note reading, "We need to talk. - Mom"


	14. Chapter 13

13. RECOVERY

Massie was trying to recover.

She had ignored her mother's breakfast and made herself some nice, hot, decaf tea with lemon, and slowly sipped away at it as she shivered in her bathrobe and tried to make the wall in front of her come into focus. There were all sorts of weird noises going through her head-- ringings, buzzings, footsteps.

No, wait, those were real. Massie put down her tea and let her head collapse into her hands. What was her mother going to do? Ground her for being a teenager? For being popular? For being a star?

She suddenly realized that she had been shouting out all of this for the whole house to hear.

"You mean a porn star?" her mom spat in her direction. Massie had never seen her this furious before.

"What the hell are you talking about _mother_?" Massie couldn't believe she was actually being punished for doing what everyone else was doing. I mean, didn't her mother watch TV? Drinking at her age was totally acceptable, as was sex. Not that her mother would ever know everything she did at that party. Then her mother held up Massie's own cell phone.

"You left this. On the counter. After you stumbled in with your pupils all dilated-- _puking_ all over my floor. I thought you had slipped, but I had no idea how far. Until I saw _this_."

Someone seemed to have caught Massie's errotic adventure from last night on their cell phone. And from the looks of it, had been sending it to the whole school. In Massie's eyes, this was good. To an extent, anyway. She had been planning a more subtle way to get all the guys to hear about this, but I guess this worked too.

In her mother's eyes, however, this was bad. Very, very bad.

"Grounded," was all her mother said before she walked away.

***

Alicia was trying to recover.

She had been let down by a guy she loved, and who she thought loved her. He refused to have sex with her. He refused to do anything. Alicia felt her bottom lip beginning to pout.

She had to look on the bright side. Josh still loved her. Maybe he was just being sensitive. Maybe he sensed that she just wasn't ready, and wanted to protect her. I mean, she had never seen him with another girl, _ever_. He never flirted, never hugged, never even talked to any girls besides her. I mean, sure he spent a lot of time with his guy friends, but she trusted him.

Her phone began vibrating in her pocket. She quickly flipped the screen so that she could see who it was. Josh. She smiled. Just the person she needed to talk to.

She opened it up and put it to her ear.

"Hello?" Alicia said. No answer. No, wait... there was some... groaning?

Yeah, Josh was groaning. It was definitely him too. And he just kept going and going... it sounded like... like...like he was having sex! That cheating, lying bastard! Just as she was about to hang up the phone, she heard something that put her into complete shock.

"Ohh, Carl," Josh moaned. Alicia quickly and quietly hung up the phone, and let it drop to the floor.

***

Dylan was trying to recover.

She was kicked out of the pretty committee for sure. She knew it.

When she hadn't been invited to the party, she was upset. But now she had eaten through her misery, and could see that just overnight she had bloated. She collapsed on her bed and began to cry.

***

Kristen was trying to recover.

Last night had been... strange. She loved Dempsey. She loved Cam. She loved... boys. Was she a slut? Was she a slut for doing what she was doing right now? Well, her mother would certainly think so. But she wasn't home.

Kristen had decided to spend the day in her own appartment, telling everyone she just wanted to be alone. Then she called Cam. The solution to too many boys? A complete overdose of one.

She had planned it, sort of. She told herself she needed a shower, then procrastinated until Cam had come to her door.

Kristen threw a towel around herself and ran to the door. "Come on in!" she smiled. "I was just about to take a shower... you want one?"

He looked kind of unsure of the thought. So he still wasn't sure about this whole double-timing thing. Or he was afraid of going too fast.

"Okay, okay hold on then. I'll just be a minute." She scampered off and took the fastest shower of her life. Then 'realized' she had no clothes to change into.

She re-wrapped herself in the towel and flitted right past Cam. "Hey sexy." she winked at him. Then she went into her room. And, lucky for her, Cam followed.

They didn't go all the way. Kristen still left some of her clothes on. But she knew by Cam's wondered expression that it was more than what Claire had ever done for him.

***

Claire was trying to recover.

She had sprained her ankle after a nasty fall down the stairs yesterday. At least, she thought that's what it was. She couldn't hear the doctor. Or see the X Rays.

She picked up a pillow and screamed into it as hard as she could. Then she picked up her phone, clicked and held down the number 3-- Cam and Claire's number because it was half of the little "3" heart, and waited for him to pick up. She waited a little while, then began to repeat "Please come. Please come. Please come." Until she was sure that her message had gotten across at least once. She needed him to survive.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Highs and the Lowdowns

On Monday, the entire Pretty Committee met under the giant oak tree in the Central Plaza of the East Wing of the South building of school.

"I can't believe I'm freakin' grounded!!!" Massie screeched throwing her purple giraffe print Dolce and Gabbana bag onto the manicured lawn. Massie began picking at her nails while Claire was walking slowly in circles with one hand on the tree to guide her.

Alicia just sat down and began intently looking for split ends.

Dylan attempted to hide her increased body size with her Vera Bradley backpack.

Kristen couldn't stand the silence so she left her friends, and skipped across the lawn where Dempsey was busy reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller for English.

"Hey," she cooed ploping down right next to him. "How's the book? I'm sort of dreading it right now." Dempsey didn't say anything.

"Earth to Dempsey. The president called and he wants you to come back to Earth." Kristen joked waving a hand in front of his face. Still no response. "What the hecksie is the matter with you?"

"Why don't you go talk to Cam? I'm sure he would be more than willing." With that Dempsey rose, gathered his books, iPod and backpack, and walked away.

Kristen wasn't not about to let that comment slide however. She sprinted after him finally cornering him near the English Department.

"What did you mean by that?" she screamed, punching his back as hard as he could. Dempsey turned around so fast, Kristen crashed right into him.

Face to face, Dempsey let her have it. "Cam was bragging about your little rendezvous in the locker room today. Funny, I never pegged you as the "biting" type."

"Hey, first of all Cam should not have told anyone about that in the first place, and second of all why do care so much!!!" Kristen was so mad, she was surprised there wasn't steam coming out her ears.

Just then, Kristen was surprised to see pain rather than resentment in his eyes. Instantly, her blood chilled. He couldn't do this to her again. "Kristen, my feelings towards you will never change. I respect that you don't want to betray your friends but everytime I hear about you hooking up with other guys, I want to beat them into the ground."

"Dempsey, I can't. Ever." Kristen turned around and walked around the corner to cry. For Kristen, the only thing scarlier than not finding love, was finding it.

***


	16. Chapter 15

15: This year was turning out to be SO the opposite of awesome.

In the two weeks following 'the incident', Massie was quickly learning that sure, guys liked sluts, but only for sex. The second a little freshman slut began to speak to a sex-crazed senior boy about an actual _date_, he ran screaming in the opposite direction. Well, not really. But figuratively, thats all it was. They hated the idea of committment, at least with her. Two of the boys that had approached her that day at school already had girlfriends. But who was she to turn them down?

If she was being honest with herself, she really was looking for a relationship. But she had to go through this part first, right? Work up her reputation, and guys would be begging to date her full-time. So she invited them to sneak in through her window- one for every night this week. It couldn't be that bad, right? And there was a really cute one that she was sure she could get to sit and talk for a while...

***

Alicia was sitting at the designated pretty-committe lunch table, not eating. The first big game had been last week, and to her relief, her boobs had in fact _not_ popped out of her top. However, she was beginnig to notice some strange inbalances in her body.

For example, she had a slight ring of fat around her hips. That wasn't attractive, or normal, right? So the food fast continued. You'd think that her parents would notice that she wasn't eating, but most of the time her daddy was on his cell phone during dinner, and she was easily able to stuff most of her food into her napkin. She had already lost a ton of weight, but some more could come off without harm. And maybe then.... Josh would take her back.

***

Dylan was three weeks away from being kicked from the Pretty Committee. And she wasn't even thinking about losing weight any more. At this point, her life was miserable. Her mother was in the hospital with extensive brain damage after a car accident over the summer (she tried not to think about it much; it just made everything worse), and as a result, her fortune was slowly but surely becoming smaller and smaller. Her aunt was taking care of her (not really her aunt, just some bitter old lady who absolutely hated Dylan but worked at the studio that her mother used to work at), Dylan's love life was completely horrible, and the only way she fought against all the thoughts of her brain damaged mother, diminishing bank account, and overweightness was by becoming more over weight, even though it was pushing her out of the only thing left in her life that was worth a scrap of anything. Before the school year even started, she had made a bet with herself. If she got kicked out of the Pretty Committee without a single one of her other issues first being resolved, Dylan was going to actually make an attempt at her own life. Not like a "oh, well I'll just pretend to be dramatic. I'll hold my breath until I chicken out". Nope. She had already planned it. She found an old, archaic gun that used to belong to her grandfather in her mother's closet, already loaded and ready to shoot. All she would need to do was pull the trigger.

***

Layne, never involved in the affairs of the Pretty Committee, was watching their table very intently. She was able to see (quite easily) what everyone else (especially the members of the PC) were trying to avoid. They were destroying themselves. Not through their usual fighting, either. They were tearing themselves down in their attempt to build themselves up, and it wasn't just one of them leading the others down a path of destruction. They were literally all imploding upon one another.

Massie looked somewhat haunted and disshevled, almost panicked. Her hair and clothes weren't nearly as perfect as they usually were. They were becoming progressively more and more low cut, and every day Massie came in looking a little more frightened, slightly closer to tears.

Alicia was losing weight. At first, it had suited her. Now, her arms looked like the wings on baby birds, and the rest of her body was lumpy-looking, as though she had lost massive amounts of weight in a short period of time. She could barely even look at her boyfriend, even though he was actually pretty decent to her. As far as Layne knew, he had never disrespected her wishes or denied her any request.

Dylan was becoming heavier with every passing day, and not just her body. Layne could see the weight of the world in her eyes, and wondered vaguely why. She knew her mother had gotten in a car accident, but she still had money, she still had friends, she still had people who would come to comfort her if she needed it. But no, instead Dylan held it all inside.

Kristen looked... a mess. Layne knew her situation better than those of any of the others at the table, but it didn't make it any better. Kristen was being stupid, and Layne was beginning to hate her for it. Kristen was supposed to be the smart one, the sensible one, the one with... well, sense! To do this to her friends and herself was just awful. She was doing too much with Cam, and the guilt of hurting Claire was beginning to get to her. You could see it in the way she refused to talk to anyone, in the way she smiled at Cam when he passed. And Cam, well, Layne was about to have a word with him. He was way too overjoyed with Kristen. He touched her in ways that weren't appropriate in the middle of the cafeteria, and Layne could see that the words he was whispering in Kristen's ear right now were not just friendly jokes, but comments that probably couldn't be said outside of an R-rated movie. Because for the past week, Kristen had had her appartment all to herself for the past week, and Layne knew for a fact that Kristen and Cam were sleeping together. In all ways, shapes, and forms.

And then there was Claire, who, in an attempt to furthur her career, was destroying herself. She was failing every one of her classes, driving herself insane (literally) and beating herself up as she tried to walk places. She now had a cast on her arm in addition to the brace around her ankle. And Cam, that scumbag, couldn't care less. He only pecked once her on the cheek (which made Kristen flush furiously) in the past week and a half.

Yes, the Pretty Committee was finally falling apart, this time probably beyond repair. And now it was finally Layne's turn to step into the spotlight.


	17. Chapter 16

16: The Secret Life of a Westchester Teenager

Kristen stood in front of the mirror pondering her reflection. Now that her hair had grown back from her awful seventh grade boy cut, she had become the most beautiful member of the Pretty Committee, which no one dared mention to Massie.

She could afford designer clothes again because her father invented a little piece of technology called a Sham-Wow and had given her an exclusive black Am-Ex to call her own.

Her grades were flawless and she had never gotten a "b" in all her years of school.

She was every parents dream and a girl all guys could go for.

But she chose to waste her time on an immature boy who only stayed with her to work out the sexual frustration he felt in his actual relationship. It didn't make sense.

Nothing made sense ever since those last few months at the end of eighth grade. Those months were her happiest and saddest. The months that changed her and forced her to close her heart.

In April, Kristen was a fun loving teenager, anxious about high school and completely in love with her boyfriend.

In June everything changed when she got a plus on a test, not talking grades.

_Massie had thrown a birthday party for herself at the Block Estate. Being April, it was pouring rain outside, forcing the party indoors. Kristen had come in an adorable Versace dress and she knew that night was going to be special._

_Kristen was standing in a hallway near the living room surveying the scene when suddenly someone grabbed her arms and pulled her into a dark room. She was ready to scream rape until she heard a familiar warm-hearted laugh._

_"Dempsey!" She turned and planted a big smooch on his smiling mouth. "You scared me!! I thought someone was going to kidnap me or something." Now she was laughing too and it was not long before they collapsed in a laughing heep on the floor._

_"Kristen, I promise I will never let anything bad happen to you," Dempsey said brushing a loose blond curl away from her face. "I love you."_

_Kristen's heart did a somersault, ran up the wall, did a happy dance on the ceiling and landed in Dempsey's arms._

_"I love you too," she whispered in his ear. Then she kissed his shoulder, chin, nose, and finally lips. A fiery passion erupted between them and soon they forgot where they were, what they were supposed to be doing, and completely lost themselves in each other. _

The problem with fire. It dies. The problem with love. It kills.

***

Massie felt like a used tissue. People kept using her and using her. Only keeping her long enough to blow their nose, and throw her away. Those boys. Her friends. She was just a tool to them. A tool that they would use while it helped them, and abandoned.

Massie lifted her head out of her goose feather pillow long enough to she that it was only 7:23. Which meant two more hours until sleep and forgetting.

But her mind kept racing and reliving her choices over the past two weeks. She needed relief. She needed a way out. She needed a fix and she knew who to call.

She picked up her iPhone and dialed.

"Chris. . . Hey . . . Do you have it? . . . I'll be there." With that Massie hung up and snuck out of her window, across the Blocks front lawn to freedom.

***

Claire was beginning to wonder if blackness was really a metaphor for the absence of purity in her life.

"God, Are you there?" she called into the emptiness surrounding her. "Tell me what this all means! Are you testing me Jesus? Give me a sign!!!" Nothing but darkness and quiet.

Wait was that a white light out of the corner of her eye?

"God!!! You do love me!!!" screamed Claire. "I believe."


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Thanksgiving

The school year had only been going on for what-- two and a half months now? But the entire Pretty Committee felt as though it had been years. It was probably worst for Claire, who had absolutely no bearings over time or space or anything that was going on around her. But for everyone, Thanksgiving was a welcome break.

The stress level was way above everyone's head. Homework was no longer something that they worried about-- it was merely a background distraction, something that was nagging at the corner of your mind but you didn't really care about any more. Even Kristen could no longer be seen working through her study hall. She was too busy sleeping, or fretting, or crying, or pretending not to cry.

Claire was probably, though the most insane of the group, also the happiest. She could always be seen carrying around a bible these days (well, Claire _thought_ it was a bible-- in reality it turned out to be a very worn-down library copy of the fourth _Harry Potter_ book that her brother had taken with them when they moved from Orlando), and muttering to herself, smiling joyfully at answers no one else could hear.

"God, please forgive me of all my imperfections. This blindfold and these earplugs are the best things that have ever happened to me. I am more grateful of everything that you have given me because of them, and I realize that until now my life was incomplete. Please, help me to redeem myself when I get out of this prison that the movie industry has put me in," Claire said to herself one afternoon during lunch.

"I will, Claire, I will. You are one of the very few in the world who have seen their faults, and ask to be redeemed," answered God. Many people would be very scared if God actually answered them. Claire, well, she was just happy for the company.

***

Massie was hungover again, but none of her teachers seemed to notice or care. It was the last day before they all went on break for Thanksgiving, so really, what was one majorly hung-over, sick-to-her-stomach student? Her mother had no clue that she was sneaking out of the house, so her sluggishness had just been put down to a reluctance to go to school. Only Chris knew that she had been out last night, and tonight would be the same. Unless, of course, he sent one of his friends over to her house instead. She really hoped that wouldn't be the case. His friends were usually rougher with her, less sensitive of her feelings. They only used her to let out their emotions, to scratch and strike her; cause her pain as they let out all their sexual tension. And another thing-- they never brought birth control. So it was always _Massie's _responsiblity to steal her mother's birth control pills that she hadn't used since last year. She just didn't know what she would do when the pills ran out. Getting pregnant was _so_ not part of her plan.

***

Kristen's relationship with Cam was becoming very simple. She was not exactly who she thought he would be. Part of her wished he would have upheld his original moral standards; that he had ignored her, never touched her in that way, kissed her like that, slid over onto her bed and begun the long string of late-night romps that had continued every night her parents were away on business. Dempsey, although he was over most of the day, left the minute Cam came to the door, immediately clenching his fists.

Cam was always somewhat of a gentleman, and Kristen tried to keep it interesting. She looked up stuff, made sure they were always stocked with birth control, and kept the atmosphere alive with candles and flowers and romantic music.

But this type of relationship reminded her too much of why Dempsey got so jealous around other boys; why he wanted to kill Cam right now, even though she had made it clear they were over.

Because she and Dempsey had been with each other the same way that she was letting Cam be with her now, and it had all ended in disaster.

_The night was cool, and the breeze coming in through his empty window was nice on her skin. She had to be fast-- his parents just thought that she was telling him the homework he'd missed when he had stayed home from school sick that day. But he wasn't sick, not as much as she was sick with herself._

_How had she been so stupid?! Clearly, birth control was not the first thing on your mind in eighth grade, but how had she let it go so far before realizing that they had skipped a crucial step? Kristen had only gotten her period two months ago, but she should have gone out and bought the pill and condoms and diaphragms and whatever the hell else it was those grown ups who were having sex always collected._

_"Dempsey..." she whispered, "we can't keep doing this. I--"_

_"Kristen, I know. I know it's awful of me to be keeping the truth from everyone. But I'm not ashamed of you, I'm not! Didn't I prove that to you, when we--"_

_She cut him off harshly, "That's not why. God, you're so stupid!" she burst in to tears, something Kristen, at that point, had done only twice before in her life-- once when her grandmother died, and then again when her parents had told her, flat-out, that Santa did not exist at only six years old._

_Six years old... she was so little then. And yet, from that point, it had only been a mere eight years. How could she be ending her whole life at fourteen? She must be the youngest person at her school to ever get pregnant, and as a result would have to drop out, be disowned, branded as a slut..._

_"Dempsey... I... my period... it..."_

_Realization dawned suddenly on his face. "You're not...there's no way... we're too young! I didn't think we even could..."_

_Kristen just nodded slowly, "I think.. I think I really am, Dempsey."_

_His reaction took her off guard. He exploded as he had never seen him before, a raging ball of fire meant only to destory her. "Well, that's just great!" he cried, "just perfect! So I expect you want me to stop my life now to take care of you, to marry you as an eighth grader and never look back!" Then she did something she could never understand: she walked away with only a single sentence thrown over her back. "Never, ever speak to me about this ever again, because I don't need you, I don't want you, and I will never, as long as I live, love you."_

And he had never come back. Sure, they had kept up a friendship, but underneath that burning passion had never been reawakened. It had lain there, dormant, waiting for him to come rushing back, but he had heard her words as truthful, not as the facade they were.

As she laid intertwined with Cam, she felt tears pouring down her cheeks. They were for everything-- for her friends, for her lies, for her past, for her future, for herself. She realized the clock on her nightstand said 12:16. It was the morning of Thanksgiving, and she could not think of a single thing to be thankful for.


	19. Chapter 18

18: Thanksgiving: a day we commemorate taking advantage of the "indians" by stealing their land, food, and lifestyles in exchange for cheap trinkets. (urbandictionary)

"I love Thanksgiving!!!" cried Claire to what she assumed was a table filled with her friends and family. "I do declare that nothing is better than commemorating the humble exchanges between the good modest Christians and the savages!!! Let's say grace!"

Claire reach for the hands of the people next to her. "God is great. God is good. And we -"

While Claire yelled grace two tables away to a very frightened elderly couple, the rest of the Pretty Committee sat around the long table at the country club completely absorbed in their own thoughts.

***

Massie: I'll never be good enough.

I'll never feel important.

No one will ever love me.

***

Dylan: I'll never be whole again.

I'll never feel happy again.

No one will care if I'm gone.

***

Alicia: I'll never be skinny enough.

I'll never feel like a part of the team.

No one will give me a chance.

***

Kristen: I'll never be stupid enough to love him again.

I'll never feel those crazy butterflies again.

No one will want damaged goods.

***

Layne had to admit that the whole scene was pretty pathetic. When Claire's mother had invited her to Thanksgiving dinner, she had assumed that the pretty committee would actually be present and not on Planet WooOooOoo!!! While Claire tried to "bring the chosen people to Jesus", the rest of the Pretty Committee was dead silent.

Layne had hoped that this would finally be her chance to find a way into the coveted group, but now all she saw was a group of burned out has-beens who had over-stayed their social welcome.

After thanking the Lyons's for inviting her, Layne turned on her new Jimmy Coo's and strutted towards her future.

She would be an alpha.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Out of Control

Dinner started out as normal as it could possibly be, under the circumstances. People socialized and ate lots of great food. Massie held a cup full of stolen beer in her hand, and kept a bottle of apple cider close by in case anyone got suspicious. She could slowly feel herself getting drunk, which was probably good since she spotted three guys that had banged her staring from across the hall, and she really didn't feel like talking to them. At least if they dragged her down the hall to an empty room or closet, she wouldn't be able to feel it through the numbness of the alcohol.  
Alicia was eating nothing. Since most people seemed to be talking too much to notice the fact that she was shoving all her food onto Dylan's plate, she was escaping trouble for the moment.

Dylan, on the other hand, was eating all the leftovers on everyone's plate, including the entire meal on Alicia's. She had totally given up on herself, since her weight loss deadline was over in a week and a half. She was almost grateful that she had planned out her own suicide; life just wasn't worth living anymore.

Kristen was acting... normal-ish. She actually ate and was not wasting her time getting drunk. However, in her mind, an epic battle raged between Dempsey and all the other boys she had looked at in a crushable way since they had broken up. Their leader was Cam, and although he was gaining on Dempsey, Dempsey stood solid as stone, never letting the battle affect him.

She was snapped out of this rather strange reverie when Claire accidentally through a spoonful of mashed potatoes into her face.

Eating with no eyes was much more difficult than it seemed. For the past couple of months, Claire had been generally sticking with finger foods so that if she missed her mouth, at least she knew the food was still in her hand. Today, however, she wanted to cut loose and actually eat. Unfortunately, she was not getting any food in her mouth, and she was too embarrassed to ask for help sine she didn't really know who was next to her.

Layne, a single seat away, waited for her chance to strike-- this would be the make it or break it of her new career as an Alpha. Her coup had to go undetected until the last moment, and the takeover of the Pretty Committee had to be smooth, but complete. She and her new group of populars would leave Massie, Alicia, Dylan, Kristen, and Claire in the dust.

Layne felt a twinge of regret at Claire's name as it ran through her head. She hated to take away Claire's prized popularity, especially while she had absolutely no clue as to what was going on. Maybe, in the new established order, Layne could make a place for her.

Then again, maybe not.


End file.
